Taymara Oropesa from Holguin beat Nikte Sotomayor of Guatemala in three sets to win the gold medal in the women’s individual event of the Giraldilla Badminton Tournament, which ended this Sunday at Havana’s Coliseum Sports.
Oropesa, currently the best badminton player in Cuba, was superior 21-14, 18-21 and 21-11 to the highest-ranked player of the event, to score 1,700 points for the world ranking and keep alive her hopes of qualifying for Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
In the women’s doubles, Taymara joined forces with Brazilian Fabiana Silva and in the final match they lost 1-2 (15-21, 21-19, 10-21) to Guatemalan duet of Diana Corleto Soto and Mariana Isabel Paiz.
Meanwhile, Samuel O’Brien of Jamaica defeated Yeison Del Cid (Guatemala) 2-0 in the men’s singles to dominate the event.
The remaining duets were favorable to Guatemalan athletes, with Christopher Martinez winning a pair of titles, firstly in the mixed with Maria Isabel in which they whitewashed the local Roberto Carlos Herrera and Leyanis Contreras and in the men’s as Yeison Del Cid’s partner, to beat 2-1 his fellow countrymen Jose Luis Granados and Antonio Emmanuel Ortiz.
Now, Taymara Oropesa will continue her preparation for the Pan-American Championship of the discipline, which will be held in April, in the search of adding more units for the universal ranking and the possible ticket to Paris Olympics.
- Oropesa faces challenge in Pan Am Badminton Championship - 10 de April de 2024
- Holguin athlete Oropesa wins Giraldilla badminton crown - 18 de March de 2024
- Oropesa debuts with victory in “Giraldilla” Badminton Tourney - 15 de March de 2024